More on the ‘Fact-Check Committee’

In an opinion letter printed Saturday, Oct. 13, Kathy O’Malley correctly chastised us for being too willing to accept as “fact” any and all statements that make the “other guy” look bad, regarding the upcoming election. I have received the cited email: Re: presidential executive order count, and in response to Ms. O’Malley’s exhortation, I took five minutes to look up the facts on the Internet. Her numbers are correct.

I did find her comments about how we (get real — it’s all of us, folks) seem to delight in joining in the “spin” game, and lo and behold, she does it herself: Social Security is not a check from the government, Ms. O’Malley. It is our money. I first paid into Social Security in 1960, and I’ve paid into it ever since. The government was supposed to keep my money in a safe place, so I would be assured of retirement income. The government jerks couldn’t stand seeing all that money sitting there doing “nothing,” so they “liberated” those funds for other purposes (Read: “To do things that make them look good enough to get re-elected”).

Now, the time has come for the government to make good their promise, and oops, “We have a problem, Houston,” and in the middle of the fray, we start to hear “entitlement” language. Also, Medicare recipients pay a monthly premium, taken out of our Social Security check (again, our money). So, you see how easy it is to twist, alter, adjust, etc., the facts to help ourselves “score points?”

As for the suggestion the BCR initiate a “Fact-Check Committee” for opinion letters, I’d be interested in knowing how that differs from censorship and why that wouldn’t violate our right to free speech? Look on the bright side: You made several valid points and you provided a wonderful example of how we all need to be vigilant that we aren’t part of the problem.